


After Happily Ever After

by WritersChoice



Series: After Happily Ever After [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Sanvers - Freeform, SuperCorp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-10-15 05:54:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17523128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritersChoice/pseuds/WritersChoice
Summary: These will be a series of one shots from The Business Woman and Social Worker AU





	1. The Newest Danvers

**Author's Note:**

> So my friend has been wondering what happened with these characters since the story ended. she's also been having a hard time reading anything else I've written because she keeps picturing these guys. someone had suggested doing one shots from that story and I'm a complete sucker and I missed them too so here we are. Hope you guys enjoy the mischief that this lovable bunch and their offspring will get into.

Winn should be used to hospitals by now, logically he knows this but he was never able to get use to the florescent lights and antiseptic smell. Also considering the family that he had he really should be over his aversion to hospitals but the 27 year old was not. With an FBI agent and police detective for sisters and having the city’s richest couple as part of his family spending time in the hospital should be par for the course but he never got used to it. Granted this trip was for a happy reason but still he wanted to be able to leave the hospital as soon as possible. If asked he would say that logically the less time you had to spend in the hospital the better it was for you rather than admit that he had never gotten over his childhood fear.

“You worry too much,” his wife called from her hospital bed.

“What makes you think I’m worrying?” he asked walking over and kissing her head.

“You Danvers siblings are all the same,” she smiled linking their fingers together. “You all knit your brow when you are worried.”

“Crinkleeeeeeeeeee,” Winn replied with a good natured smile resting his hand on her stomach. “I just can’t wait to meet our little guy.”

“Me too,” Jess smiled resting her other hand on top of his where they child laid preparing for his imminent arrival. “The last nine months seem to have flown by but these last few hours are taking forever.”

“Yeah it feels like just yesterday we were telling everyone about him and suddenly he’s all ready to be born,” Winn answered with a slight frown of worry. “I can’t believe I’m about to be a dad.”

“Neither could Alex,” Jess grinned in an attempt to alleviate his worry. “She looked like she was about to pass out when we told them.”

“To be fair,” Winn chuckled at the memory. “I’m pretty sure that look had more to do with the WAY you told them rather than the fact that you were expecting.”

 

Xxx

They had been sitting in their favourite bar six months before on one of their siblings’ night out. Eliza and J’onn were currently at Lena and Kara’s house babysitting 11 year old Mikayla and her 4 year old brother Michael as well as Maggie and Alex’s 3 year old Lyra. This was the first time in three months that all six of them were able to get together at the same time. Usually they were missing at least two people due to work obligations or one of the three children being sick.

“We’re going to have to tell them soon,” Jess had leant into him and whispered. “Someone will eventually realize that we’re in a bar and I ordered club soda.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Alex called from across the table. “Hands off the baby brother!”

“By all means Agent Danvers,” Jess replied resting her elbow on the table and her chin in her palm. “I’ll keep my hands off your baby brother. My husband however is up for grabs.” The entire table roared with later at Alex’s mock indignant glare.

“You walked into their house in the middle of them going at it last month, surely you don’t believe that after a year and a half of marriage that Winn is still a virgin?” Lena quipped.

“Ugh don’t remind me,” Alex groaned with her head on the table. “I swear I was tempted to bleach my eyes after seeing Winn stark naked!”

“You’d think after walking in on me and Lena you’d learn how to knock, but no you just keep going,” Kara grinned.

“How was I supposed to know that you’d be doing THAT in the kitchen,” Alex grouched. “In the kitchen Kara!”

“We finally had the house to ourselves for the first time in a month. You’re lucky we weren’t on the front lawn,” Lena smirked unrepentant.

“The front law?” Maggie choked. “Well damn Luthor.”

“Ugh! No more talk about defiling my siblings,” Alex growled.

“Who says I’m the one defiling him?” Jess quipped.

“Don’t make me shoot you Jess!” Alex replied.

“I’m just saying he’s VERY good with his hands,” Jess retorted with an evil glint in her eye and lacing their fingers together.

“Oh God!” Alex groaned while finishing her drink in one swallow while the others laughed at her expense.

“Baby Danvers for the win!” Maggie chortled at her wife’s expression. “Out here making up for lost time.”

“Um I’ll have you know I was not a virgin when we got married or even when we started dating thank you very much,” Winn stated with a frown.

“Oh trust me he definitely was NOT a virgin,” Jess quipped leaning back and running her hands through his hair with a dreamy look on her face.

“Okay I’m with Alex now,” Kara groaned. “I do not need to hear about my best friend and baby brother’s sex life.”

“Well if you really want proof we’ve been having sex you’ll have to wait about six months,” Jess replied resting a hand protectively over her stomach.

“What?!?” Alex yelped.

“You’re going to be aunts,” Winn grinned resting his hand on top of Jess’.

“Guess she’s living up to her last name,” Lena quipped as they all congratulated the couple. She looked over at Kara with a secret smile unwilling to steal the couple’s thunder by announcing that they were also expecting. There’d be time enough for that in the coming weeks. As it turned out they hand to wait a few weeks later than they thought as two short weeks later Alex and Maggie announced that they too were expecting.

“Must be something in the water,” J’onn quipped when they finally announced their ow pregnancy a few weeks later at family dinner.

Xxx

Six months later when Jess went into labour, the first people they called were Alex and Kara. Winn called Alex to freak out while Jess called Kara to calm down her younger brother. Alex and Kara opted to travel together after leaving Lyra and a heavily pregnant Maggie at Kara and Lena’s house under the watchful eye of Eliza and J’onn.

“I see it’s Rabbit season,” Alex greeted from the door of Jess’ hospital room.

“I wished someone had told me how painful labour was,” Jess groaned looking towards the door where her longest standing friends and sisters stood.

“Well love they don’t call it labour for nothing,” Alex replied gently resting her hand on Jess’ head. “How you doing mama?”

“I’m tired and so over this whole labour thing,” Jess grouched. “Why couldn’t this kid take after his father and be punctual for everything?”

“You mean unlike you who is perpetually running 30 minutes late?” Kara replied kissing her friend’s forehead after giving Winn a hug.

“Exactly,” Jess replied with a groan while another contraction hit.

“Guess you’ll be keeping your hands off my baby brother from now on,” Alex retorted once the contraction had passed in a bid to keep her distracted until the next one.

“And give you the satisfaction of saying I told you so?” Jess muttered. “Not on your life. He’s going to owe me several orgasms after this.”

“We talked about this Jess, we talked about this,” Alex growled. “We do not talk about my brother’s sex life.”

“Well to be fair you brought it up,” Kara replied earning a snicker from Winn.

“Oh God please don’t make me laugh,” Jess replied squeezing Winn’s hand. She saw him wince and normally would have released his hand but right at this moment the thought of him experiencing even a fraction of the pain that she was currently going through gave her a perverse sense of pleasure.

 

Three hours later with an indignant howl Winslow Schott III made his way into the world. His father openly wept while holding his wife tight after cutting the umbilical cord. Winn couldn’t stop kissing her hair grateful for the gift of fatherhood that she had given him.

“He’s so tiny,” Jess said in awe running her finger along her cheek while he nursed.

“Well he’s definitely related to Kara with the way he eats,” Alex quipped reaching out to touch her newborn nephew’s tiny fingers. She was instantly in love the moment he wrapped his fingers around hers. In that moment she was certain that she would walk through hell for this tiny little boy who so resembled her younger brother.

“Congrats Winn. He’s perfect,” Kara replied pulling Winn into a tight hug.

“Oh sure, I do all the work but he gets the praise,” Jess quipped good naturedly.

“Good job mama,” Kara laughed placing a kiss on her best friend’s head. “Thank you for my first nephew.”

“Thought it was only fair to return the favour,” Jess replied with tears in her eyes as she gazed up at Kara. If it wasn’t for her friendship with this woman she wouldn’t be holding her entire world in her arms. They all sat in silence watching as the newest member of their family nursed until Alex’s cell phone went off.

“It’s mom,” she announced looking at the display screen. “Hey mom I was just about to call you. Little man was born about thirty minutes ago.”

“Oh that’s wonderful!” Eliza squealed in a way more reminiscent of her almost twelve year old granddaughter than a world renowned biochemical engineer.

“Kara and I are going to stay for a little while longer and then head home to give them some time alone,” Alex replied with a grin.

“I’m afraid there’s been a slight change in plans,” Eliza answered vaguely.

“What? Why?” Alex asked confused.

“Because my dear,” Eliza answered with a sigh, “you and your siblings insist on doing everything together.”

“What’s happening?” Kara asked from her position at Jess’ head.

“I don’t know,” Alex relied. “Mom I’m putting you on speaker. What happened?”

“Well it seems that Jess may have had a ripple effect,” Eliza answered clearly distracted.

“What does that mean?” Alex asked hoping to God that her conclusion was mistaken.

“Well love both Maggie AND Lena have gone into labour,” Eliza replied. “J’onn and I are loading all the kids into Kara’s car and we’re following the ambulances to the hospital now.”

“What?!” Kara squeaked now clearly being able to hear the sound of sirens in the background.

“We’ll be there in about fifteen minutes,” Eliza called before hanging up.

“Oh god,” Alex groaned. “Maggie nearly broke my hand last time. She’s gonna do so much worse this time around since I wasn’t there.”

“They don’t call it labour for nothing,” Jess quipped with a Cheshire grin.

“Oh shut up!” Alex growled while Jess and Winn snickered.

“I think I’m gonna faint,” Kara whispered. “What do I do? Do I boil water? Do they still boil water?”

“Good god Kara you already have two children,” Winn replied shocked.

“Mikayla was seven and Michael was already born when I met them!” Kara wailed.

“Well you just watched me give birth,” Jess stated in exasperation. “Did we need hot water?”

“I don’t know! I closed my eyes at one point,” Kara answered with a frown.

“For Christ’s sake Kara,” Alex muttered.

Four hours later Lena and Maggie were wheeled into the hospital room they would be sharing with Jess. They were the buzz of the hospital currently, after all it’s not every day that three siblings welcome children on the same day in the same hospital.

“What are their names?” Jess asked from across the room.

“This is Kieran Alexander Luthor-Danvers,” Lena answered holding up the blonde haired bundle in her arms. “Named for my birth mother and the brother I had growing up. The man he turned into may have been a monster but the boy was my whole world.”

“He’s also named for the older sister who was my whole world growing up,” Kara replied with a smile at Alex.

“I am honoured,” Alex answered giving her a one handed hug and fighting back tears.

“And this is Alura Eliza Luthor-Danvers. Named for both my mothers,” Kara replied looking to Eliza who sat in an arm chair holding a sleeping Lyra while J’onn rocked Michael to sleep.

“Who would have thought you guys would have twins,” Jess said with a shake of the head.

“My mom was a twin actually,” Kara announced. “Astra was Kal’s mom and was married to my uncle Jor-el who also happened to be my dad’s twin brother.”

“Talk about keeping it in the family,” Jess quipped while the others laughed quietly.

“Who’s that you’re holding Alex?” Winn asked once the laughter had died down.

“Well, we decided to name this little man for the two bravest men I knew growing up my dad and one other person,” Alex answered smiling at Winn. “Say hello to Jeremiah Winslow Sawyer-Danvers.”

“You named him after me?” Winn whispered close to tears for the umpteenth time that day.

“We couldn’t think of a better man to be our son’s role model,” Maggie answered seeing that Alex was too choked up respond. “We wanted him to be able to look to someone strong, kind and smart. We figured you’d be up to the challenge.”

“Welp, looks like we have three Winslows in the same family. Guess Alex can’t make any more cracks now can she?” Jess quipped in a bid to give her husband a moment to deal with the raw emotion she could see on his face. It didn’t happen often anymore but every once in a while when he was overwhelmed he’d have a panic attack. She knew she had succeeded when he joined in the laughter rippling around the room

“What about that little man?” J’onn asked pointing to the bundle held in Maggie’s arms.

“Funny you should ask,” Maggie replied. “This is Oscar J’onn Sawyer-Danvers. He’s named after the father I had growing up. Like Lena said the man he turned into left a lot to be desired, but who he was when I was growing up was a strong man who loved his family fiercely. We named him after you so he’d have a father figure who loved him unconditionally. One who would always be there when he needed him most. Just like you’ve been there for each of us time and again over the last four years.”

It wasn’t often that J’onn found himself speechless but in a hospital room surrounded by people who looked nothing like him he found himself until to find any words. After years of being alone after burying his wife and daughters he found himself surrounded by the children his heart had claimed and their children. Looking around he had no doubt that they were in fact stronger together.


	2. First Day Blues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael and Lyra's first day of school doesn't quite go as planned.

“It’ll only be for a few hours,” Lena states looking into a pair of blue eyes brimming with tears. “Pre-school let’s out 1. The time will fly by before you know it.”

“But he’s so tiny Lee,” Kara sniffled. “He’s only 5. We can keep him home another year.”

“Love we talked about this,” Lena sighed putting the car in park. “He needs to socialize with people who aren’t related to him. He and Lyra now have their own language which is dangerous considering how much trouble they tend to get into when they’re together.” She had been expecting tears on Michael’s first day of pre-school she really had. What she had not expected was for those tears to be coming from her wife rather than her son.

“I Know but this will be the first time he’s been away from both of us!” Kara whispered trying her best not to pass off  heranxiety to their sun.

“Kara, we’ve spent the last three weeks getting him excited for school, you knew it was coming why are you so upset now?” Lena asked mildly exasperated.

“Because I just realized how much I’m gonna miss him. He’s been my little buddy for so long. He went to classes with me and he was even able to go to work with me when I took over as Editor in Chief at Catco. He’s never been with someone he wasn’t related to,” Kara whispered brokenly. “He gives the best cuddles.”

“Baby just because he’s growing up doesn’t mean he won’t be our little boy anymore,’ Lena said reaching over and lifting Kara’s head so she could meet her eyes. “No matter how old he gets he’s still our little boy.”

“I know it’s just hard,” Kara shrugged once again on the verge of tears. “I just want to keep him tiny and safe forever.”

“Love if you start crying he’s gonna cry and then that will set the twins off. Is that really what you want?”

“I guess not,” Kara sniffed.

“Okay, how about this,” Lena sighed giving in. “We’ll get him settled and then we’ll stay a while until you’re ready to leave.”

“Really?” Kara perked up. “You mean it Lee?”

“Yes love. Now let’s get everyone unloaded and find Maggie and Alex,” Lena replied shaking her head at her wife’s suddenly sunny disposition. Somehow she was sure she’d regret making that promise. She stood by the car door unhooking Michael’s carseat while Kara removed the twins’ stroller from the back.

“Is mommy okay momma?” Michael asked craning his neck to catch a glimpse of her.

“She’ll be fine little one. She’s just gonna miss you that’s all,” she replied.

“But I won’t be gone long,” Michael answered with the infamous Danvers crinkle marking his brow.

“I know love,” Lena smiled down at him. He was dressed in his favourite pair of black jeans with his Superman t-shirt, red jacket and miniature sneakers. Suddenly Lena found herself choking back tears looking at him standing there with his backpack and lunch kit. When did her baby turn into a little boy ready for school?

 _You just got Kara to calm down you will not cry,_ she admonished herself taking a deep breath.

“There’s Aunty Alex and Aunty Maggie!” Michael exclaimed. Sure enough coming from the other side of the parking lot she saw Alex carrying Lyra while Maggie pushed the stroller with Ozzie and JW. Lyra was dressed almost identical to her cousin with the exception of wearing a Supergirl t-shirt.

“Ready?” Maggie asked as Alex set Lyra on the ground so that she could hold hands with her cousin. The two were chattering away in their own made up language oblivious to the myriad of emotions running through the adults around them.

“As we’ll ever be,” Lena replied leading the way to Michael and Lyra’s pre-school classroom.

 

Xxx

 

“How was first day?” Jess asked two hours later through the speaker of Lena’s phone.

“Slight hiccup,” Lena answered looking over at Maggie who was sitting in the passenger seat of her car shaking her head in exasperation.

“What happened?” Winn replied after Jess put the phone on speaker.

“Well we haven’t actually completed drop off yet,” Lena rolled her eyes. “Everything was going relatively smoothly until it was time to leave. That’s when the tears started falling.”

“Oh no, poor Michael and Lyra!” Jess exclaimed. “Did they eventually calm down.”

“Oh Michael and Lyra were fine,” Maggie muttered.

“Wait, I’m confused,” Jess replied. “I thought you said there were tears?”

“Oh there were,” Lena sighed. “From Kara and Alex.”

“You’ve got to be joking,” Winn replied incredulous while Jess all but fell over laughing.

“Nope,” Maggie quipped. “We wish to God we were or we wouldn’t be stuck in the school’s parking lot still.”

“You’re still there?”

“Yeah because **someone** decided to make a ridiculous promise,” Maggie answered with a pointed look at Lena.

“Don’t look at me like that. I promised **Kara** we would stay until she was comfortable leaving Michael, you’re the one who extended the same promise to Alex,” Lena retorted.

“What was I supposed to do then? Tell Alex we couldn’t stay with Lyra for a little while after you made **that** promise?” Maggie muttered.

“You could have said no,” Lena answered refusing to back down.

“So how long are you guys staying for?” Jess asked through her laugh.

“Honestly we might be here until the end of the day,” Maggie sighed causing Jess to dissolve into giggles once more.

“What will you guys do if this happens again tomorrow?” Winn wheezed.

“Oh God don’t ask,” Lena groaned. “I’m just trying to get through today. We’ll figure out tomorrow, tomorrow.” As it turned out neither Kara nor Alex were comfortable leaving the children at pre-school for two weeks. So for two weeks their wives sat in Lena’s car lamenting on the things they did for love.


	3. The Separation Experimentation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Junior (5)  
> Kieran and Alura (5)  
> JW and Ozzie (5)
> 
> The Danvers-Luthor-Sawyer-Schott clan find themselves called into the principal's office for the first time in years

 

Winn sat at his desk working the kinks out of the software for the software he was developing. If he could get it to work the way it should he could help to close the divide between the visually impaired and the hearing impaired. Finally parents and children and siblings who fall under either umbrella would not need the help of another person to communicate with their families. This would lead to more independence for all those involved. Most days Winn was excited about the work that he was doing but after working on the same algorithm for the better part of a month he was getting slightly frustrated. He knew that sooner or later he would have bring Lena in to help but he was trying to delay as much as possible. Not out of ego or aversion to working with Lena but simply because she had her hands full being CEO or two companies and a mother to four kids. He loved working with Lena but he was always cognisant of the fact that she worked too hard for her own good and would neglect her health if they didn’t keep track of her.

He remembered how in the beginning of their relationship how Kara worried about her constantly. She was also worried about the fact that her job with Social Services had unpredictable hours that would often interfere with her ability to put Mikayla and Michael on any type of reasonable schedule. He knew it wasn’t an easy decision for her to leave her job and go back to school but ultimately he knew she made the best decision for her and her family. After three years of earning her Masters in journalism as well as a degree in business management, Kara happily stepped into her role as Editor in Chief for the newly acquired CatCo. After Kara left and he started dating Jess he did a lot of soul searching himself and realized that he had started the jobs he had for the wrong reasons. He’d had every intention of continuing both jobs however until Lena came to him with a proposition. At first he had refused as he believed she was simply trying to buy him a way out because she was dating his sister until she convinced him of all the good their new venture could do. He eventually gave in and Kara and Lena became patrons of Nation City Social Services and employed a full time IT technician to fill his place. He’d also scaled back his work with the FBI though he still liaised with J’onn who was now a Unit Chief and Alex who had been promoted to Supervisory Special Agent on J’onn’s team. This allowed him to focus his time on the small tech firm that he had opened with Lena as a silent partner.

Jess had also opened her own law firm in recent years though she still worked with the NCSS on a weekly basis. Half of the staff she employed were dedicated to working on cases for the NCSS pro bono while the others took on personal and criminal cases for other members of society. The fact that many of her employees were themselves former foster children made working with NCSS a cause close to their hearts. All in all, it worked out for the best for all involved. Both he and Jess now worked regular hours and were able to be there to have dinner with Junior and for bedtime most nights. So far they had a system worked out where Jess dropped Junior at school and Winn picked him up and brought him back to his company on the fifth floor of the Luthor building. On days when he couldn’t get away to pick him up himself either Lena or Kara would collect him when they picked up the twins and then dropped him off on their way home at the end of the day. This worked out perfectly for everyone involved as Junior was always happy to spend extra time with any of his aunts or his cousins. Winn was just about to throw in the towel and call Lena when his phone began ringing. He picked it up and was mildly surprised to be getting a call from his son’s school at 10 in the morning.

“Hello? Yes this is Winn Schott,” he answered after placing the phone to his ear. After the woman identified herself as the school secretary he was even more surprised to be called in for a meeting in half an hour. “Sure I’ll be there.” He hung up and sent a quick text to Jess to let her know only to receive an immediate response that she had also gotten called in.

Ten floors above him Lena Luthor-Danvers was in the middle of catching up with her best friend and CFO Samantha Arias when there was a knock on her door. A few seconds later her senior executive assistant Eve entered.

“I’m sorry to interrupt Mrs. Luthor-Danvers,” Eve began. Though she had formed a close friendship with both of the Mrs. Luthor-Danvers over the course of the last few years she staunchly refused to call either by their first names during work hours. After a year and a half Lena had given up trying to convince her to do otherwise. “The twins’ school just called requesting that you be there for a meeting in thirty minutes.”

“Are they alright?” Lena asked immediately concerned. After one botched kidnapping attempt of Mikayla years ago and two for Michael over the last few years each time their schools called during the middle of the day her stomach clenched.

“They assured me that both children are fine and accounted for,” Eve reassured. “I also checked with your wife’s assistant and it seems that they got a similar call.” Lena picked up her phone and sent a message to the family group chat asking whether they had been called in and was not surprised to hear that everyone had been called in as well.

“It seems that the school called in my brother and sisters-in-law as well,” she stated looking up from her phone.

“God I wish I could be there to see what mischief they got into this time,” Sam chuckled.

“Why are you so certain that they’re in trouble?” Lena asked mildly though she was just as suspicious her friend.

“Let’s just say that the Danvers-Luthor-Sawyer-Schott clan has been dragging each other in and out of trouble for the better part of five years,” Sam grinned.

“And you believe that Ruby and Mikayla are being complete angels away at Star City University?” Lena arched a brow.

“Nope,” Sam quipped. “But Ruby is twenty and I’m confident enough in her a Mikayla’s upbringing to not be two worried. Plus, we haven’t gotten a call from the Dean since Mikayla became a junior this year.”

“Yeah, at seventeen Mikayla is far more level-headed than I was at that age,” Lena replied with a fond smile shrugging into her coat. “Now I’m off to see what my children and nephews have gotten into now.”

Xxx

“What do you think they did now?” Alex asked standing in the parking lot twenty minutes later.

“Whatever it is, it’s sure to be interesting,” Jess grinned back.

“I told you they’d never make it two months before ending up at the principal’s office,” Maggie chuckled. “Pay up Danvers you owe me twenty bucks.”

“You should’ve known better than betting against NCPD’s lead detective for their science division Alex,” Kara quipped.

“Maybe they’re not in trouble,” Winn said hopefully.

“Have you met our children in the last five years Winn?” Lena asked earning a chuckle from the assembled group. “Let’s go find out just what they have done.” As a group the six of them grabbed attention when they entered a room en masse. Not only were they each strikingly good looking in their own right but they each exuded an aura of confidence and command that was hard to miss and even harder to ignore. At the front desk Alex naturally took the lead as the eldest announcing their presence. In the room across from the principal’s office they were not surprised to see all five of their children gathered. They were however surprised to see three other unknown children in the room with them.

They had a short waiting period and so were able to observe their children at play. Junior was a miniature version of his father all over again. He has his dark brown hair and square jaw that was still slightly disguised by baby fat. He had even taken to styling his hair similarly to his father’s but his hazel eyes were all his mother. Dressed in a light blue button front tucked into a pair of brown dress pants with a tiny bowtie and brown converse sneakers he looked even more like his dad. He was currently engrossed in a conversation with his cousin Alura. Alura was wearing balck jeans with a black tank top that was complimented by a brown jacket and balck converse. On some children her age it may be a severe look but with Alura’s green eyes and jet black hair it seemed appropriate. Especially given that Alura tended to mimic Lena’s posture and mannerism. In contrast her brother Kieran was as fair as his sister was dark. He had Kara’s blonde hair and light blue eyes similar to that of his older brother Michael. He was also as bubbly and giggly as his mommy and preferred button front shirts similar to his cousin. His shirt however was black and white plaid matched with black jeans and converse identical to his sister’s. He was currently roughhousing with Ozzie while JW cheered. The identical twins were dressed in all black like Alura. Their outfits consisted of jeans and V-neck t-shirts paired with doc martens and faux black jackets. They had Maggie’s olive toned skipped, jet black hair and dimples coupled with Alex’s sharp jawline, nose and mischievous smile.

They had been waiting approximately for approximately ten minutes before being shown into Headmaster Lucy Lane’s office.

“Please have a seat,” she indicated to the chairs that were brought in to accommodate the group.

“Why are we here?” Alex once again took the lead. “And why aren’t our children in class?”

“Well we had a slight hurdle this morning and thought it best to have them taken here until it could be resolved,” Lucy replied.

“Meaning what exactly?” Lena asked.

“Well over the last month and a half we have noticed that your children tend to interact only with their siblings or cousins,” Lucy began. “If another child should try and join them, they immediately switch to a made up language until the other child leaves.”

“We noticed that they had their own language when they were toddlers,” Lena frowned. “But they haven’t used it quite as much as they used to over the last few months.” She looked to the others for confirmation and was rewarded with a nod from each.

“We have strict rules at our houses that they are required to use either English, Spanish or Gaelic,” Maggie shrugged. “They also know that English is mandatory once we have company.”

“I guess we forgot to extend that rule to include school,” Jess sighed.

“Did you pull them out of class because of a made up language or was there something else?” Kara asked.

“Well, their usual class teacher thought it best to separate them into different classes. She wanted to see how they fared on their own away from the group dynamic,” Lucy replied.

“And no-one thought to inform us first?” Alex scowled.

“It was supposed to be a trial run this week before any permanent decisions were made,” Lucy sighed.

“How long did it take before they rebelled?” Lena asked mildly.

“An hour,” Lucy replied. “Usually they are all well behaved, co-operative and diligent with their school work. With the exception of what I mentioned earlier we have had no problems with them.”

“Until you separated them,” Maggie stated. “We’re going to assume that things did not go well.”

“That would be an understatement,” Lucy muttered. “Junior locked his teacher out of her phone and refused to allow her to regain access until he was reunited with his cousins. We’re still not sure what he did but he also locked all the tablets in his class. We still haven’t been able to regain access to any of them.”

“Oh boy,” Winn replied.

“Alura staged an in-class sit in, refusing to move or co-operate outside of demanding to see her brother and cousins. She also stated that her aunts worked with the FBI and NCPD and she’s press charges for violating the Geneva Conventions after the teacher refused to tell her what classroom each was in. We’re still not certain of the connection between the two,” Lucy continued.

“My guess it she’s looking at it from the stance of collective punishments and refusing to furnish information on them,” Jess answered trying her best not to laugh. “She however overlooked the part where this was in regards to prisoners of war.”

“That explains her mutterings about ‘outrages upon personal dignity’,” Lucy muttered finally earning a chuckle from the assembled group.

“What about the other three?” Maggie inquired.

“Well Kieran has been raving up and down that we’d be hearing from his lawyers and that the inhumane treatment of his family would be front page news,” Lucy replied.

“Okay Ruby and Mikayla are no longer allowed to talk to them about their college courses,” Lena sighed.

“Yes because **that’s** where he got his flair for the dramatic from,” Alex deadpans earning a mock scowl from Lena. “Do we even want to know what the twins did?”

“Well JW scaled to the top of the bookshelf in his class room and refused to come down. After the third time we had to get a ladder to get him down he informed his teacher that she was infringing upon his body autonomy and he’d have her arrested for it,” Lucy answered with a quirk of her eyebrow.

“What were you saying about flair for the dramatic again?” Lena drawled.

“Oh be quiet,” Alex muttered. Watching the assembled group Lucy was no longer in doubt as to where the children got their strong personalities and interpersonal relationship. “What about Ozzie?”

“Well that was a bit more challenging,” Lucy answered keeping the smile off her face at the thought of the manipulations the five year old had employed. “For every twenty minutes that he was separated from the others he decided to explain why a host of mythical creatures weren’t real in full hearing of some of his classmates. We’ve had to call in four parents whose children became inconsolable after being told that the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny weren’t real. He looked the teacher dead in the eye and told her that next on his list would be Santa.”

“Oh God,” Kara wheezed trying her best not to laugh. “I’m going to kill Michael and Lyra.”

“At this point she thought it best to separate him from the rest of the class to avoid having twelve crying five year olds,” Lucy smiled. “He then responded by shouting that she was trying to silence him and the truth would not be hidden.”

“So what do we do now?” Jess inquired. “Because on one hand if you keep them separated they’ll continue to be disruptive however if you give in they employ the same tactics or similar when they want their own way in future.”

“That was my thought as well,” Lucy replied. “That is why I have a third option.”

“Which is what exactly?”  Lena asked immediately suspicious.

“Like I said we’ve been observing your children since the beginning of the year and it has become clear that they don’t belong in Kindergarten,” Lucy began.

“Why have you been observing them?” Kara frowned.

“After past experiences with Michael, Lyra and even Mikayla, we suspected that they too may be ahead of their peers academically,” Lucy replied. “That’s why we’d like to have them moved to a more advanced class.”

“Putting small children in a class full of older children will be the equivalent of painting a bull’s eye on their backs,” Winn shook his head remembering his own school days. “The best thing for them is to be with children their own age.”

“Not if it stunts their academic development,” Lena interjected. “But I am with Winn, putting a group of five year olds with older children sounds like a recipe for disaster.”

“We’ve considered this,” Lucy admitted. “Which is why we want to put them in a class with children their own age but at their academic level. We have four other children in kindergarten with a similar problem; Nora West-Allen, Olivia Queen, Dante Ramon and Rachel Raymond. We’ve called in their parents as well.” Just as she finished speaking her secretary announced the arrival of the other parents. She then ushered the group to a larger conference room where she introduced them to Barry and Iris West-Allen, Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak, Cisco and Cynthia ‘Gypsy’ Ramon and Ronnie Raymond and Dr. Caitlin Snow.


	4. Toxic Masculinity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Each of the older children from the Danvers-Luthor-Sawyer-Schott clan have had to deal with toxic masculinity as they grew up.

**Mikayla 15**

 

Mikayla was laying on her bed typing up the proposal for her senior year project when she heard the ping indicating an incoming message. Rolling over she reached for the cell phone next to her and opened the message noting that it was from her friend Jacob. Over the last month and a half, she had begun dreading seeing her friend’s name appear on her screen. For some reason he had decided recently that their platonic friendship should be changed regardless of her stance that she was not interested in a romantic relationship with him. After the last time he had sent her a message demanding naked pictures and her staunch refusal she thought he had finally gotten the message and their relationship had reverted to its previous setting somewhat. Noticing that the message in question was a picture, she breathed a sigh of relief thinking he had sent her another funny meme he had found online. She tapped on the message to open it with a slight smile of anticipation that froze on her face when the picture populated. Locking her screen, she unplugged her headphones and got to her feet tucking her phone into the back pocket of her black shorts and padded barefoot down the hall to her moms' room where she found mom in bed working at her laptop and momma applying moisturizer at her vanity.

“Hey moms,” she greeted, “can you give me Jake’s mom’s number please?”

“Is there something wrong?” momma asked concern immediately creasing her pale brow.

“Not really,” Mikayla shrugged.

“You know you can talk to us about anything right little one?” mom asked adjusting her glasses, her fingers hovering over her laptop.

“I know,” Mikayla smiled. “But I’d prefer to handle this myself.”

“Well we can’t give you Mrs. Sinclair’s phone number without her permission,” Lena replied, “but you can call her from my cell phone if you’d like.”

“Sure that’d be great thanks,” Mikayla answered accepting the phone her momma extended. Rather than leaving the room she opted to make the call there. Without having to ask she knew she had her moms’ unwavering support and it helped to steady her nerves as she listened to the ringing of the phone.  Once the lined opened she took a deep breath and began the confrontation she had bee hoping she’d never have to have. “Hi Mrs. Sinclair, this is Mikayla, Mikayla Luthor-Danvers.”

“I know who it is dear,” the other woman laughed. “You’ve been friends with my son for the last five years so I think I’d recognize your voice. I also have your moms’ numbers stored in my phone. How can I help? Or would you rather talk to Jake.”

“No I actually wanted to talk to you,” Mikayla began. “You see over the last month and a half Jake has taken to sending me dirty messages on my phone and online. Now I’ve told him multiple times that I’m not interested in anything outside of a friendship with him but he’s being persistent and refusing to take no for an answer.” As she spoke she heard three separates gasps from the mothers listening. She could almost feel the waves of maternal fury pouring off her moms as they listened to her side of the conversation.

“I’m sure you misunderstood,” Mrs. Sinclair stuttered.

“Now ma’am I’m sure I didn’t,” Mikayla responded with a frown. “Your son has been pressuring me to send him naked pictures or to video call him in my underwear.”

“I know my son Mikayla,” Mrs. Sinclair replied with mild disdain. “And he would never do something like that unless he thought it’s something that would be accepted. How can I be sure that you haven’t been leading on my son?”

“Put the phone on speaker,” Lena said seeing what the family referred to as the famous Luthor eyebrow in full effect. She placed a hand on Mikayla’s shoulder and was surprised to feel her shaking.

“I can assure you that I have not been leading your son on,” Mikayla says insulted and doing as momma instructed. She looked up in time to see her mom abandon her laptop altogether and come and stand with her and momma forming a protective cocoon around her. “I have been clear when I told Jake that I was not interested in either a sexual or romantic relationship with him. I thought he had finally gotten the point until he sent me an unsolicited dick pic five minutes ago. I’m not sure where he got the idea that something like that was acceptable but in my family we were raised to know that it’s not.”

“You know how these things works,” Mrs. Sinclair answered slightly embarrassed at the righteous indignation in the voice of the teenager speaking to her but staunchly defending her son regardless. “Boys will be boys and all.”

“No ma’am,” Mikayla replied calling on the tone of polite disdain that momma used when addressing old men who thought that because she was young and a woman that she should fall in line with whatever they decided. Anyone who heard that tone and truly knew the Luthor-Danvers women knew to tread lightly. “Boys will be boys covers why my eight year old brother Michael has never met a puddle that he didn’t want to jump into. It explains why my three year old brother Kieran and my cousins Junior, JW and Ozzie enjoying playing with worms. Or why they all can’t seem to resist collecting every molecule of dirt that they encounter on a daily basis. It does not however cover sexual harassment.”

“Sexual harassment?” Mrs. Sinclair yelped. “It was a harmless picture!”

“No ma’am it was not. It was a violation of my right to not want any form of sexual relationship with him,” Mikayla replied. “Something that I’ve told him repeatedly I want no part of. If you or he is confused as to what falls under sexual harassment, I can have my aunt Alex pay him a visit and give him a lesson. Her team at the FBI doesn’t really deal with sexual harassment but I’m sure that since it took place online it would fall under the purview of a cybercrime and she’d be more than happy to take a look. If she’s too busy I could always ask my grandpa J’onn. He’s pretty busy running the team that Aunt Alex works on but he’s always had a soft spot for me so I’m sure he’d make the time.”

“FBI?” Mrs. Sinclair squeaked.

“Or if you’re more comfortable I could have Aunt Maggie swing by instead. She’s a lieutenant at NCPD after all so this may be more up her alley. Though I should probably check with Aunt Jess first. She’s a lawyer so she’s more familiar with the other side of the justice system. She mainly practices family law but I’m sure one of the many lawyers who work for her and focuses on criminal and civil cases could help. If not, I’m sure she can call in a favour from the DA’s office since she’s pretty good friends with her. Oh maybe I can have grandma Suzanne take a look, she’s my brother Kieran’s godmother but she’s also a judge,” Mikayla mused aloud. “If need be I’m sure my uncle Winn would be more than happy to help her out by going through every aspect of Jake’s online fingerprint to see if he can find any other examples of sexual harassment that your son apparently doesn’t know is sexual harassment. Uncle Winn is more into tech these days but he still works with Aunt Alex and Grandpa J’onn at the FBI from time to time.”

“That’s not necessary,” Mrs. Sinclair began.

“Oh but I want to help you and Jake better understand sexual harassment,” Mikayla replied with a saccharine sweet tone. “I can also have my mom do an editorial on your family with examples of what is sexual harassment taken directly from your family’s online life. Mom is very pro the MeToo movement and works pretty hard every day to ensure that she creates a healthy and respectful environment at work for all her employees. She also **loves** educating the youth and this may be a great way for her to educate **everyone** in National City and quite frankly anyone who reads CatCo magazine as to what sexual harassment looks like and how to protect their children from it.”

“I, uh I’m,” Mrs. Sinclair stuttered.

“I should also ask momma what she thinks,” Mikayla replied thoughtfully. “I mean she’s a CEO for two different companies and has investments in all sorts of other companies all over the city and the country and beyond. Matter of fact didn’t she buy a 52% interest in your husband’s athletics company about five years ago? I’m also pretty sure she’s on the school board and we have a strict anti-bullying rule in place.”

“Are you threatening me and my family?” Mrs. Sinclair growled.

“Threatening? Now where would you get a silly idea like that?” Mikayla scoffed. “I would never threaten anyone. Momma says threats are what smallminded and weak people use to try and exert control or power over another person or group. Mom also says that threats are a waste of time as most people make threats without anyway of backing them up. No ma’am the Luthor-Danvers family does not make threats. We make promises. I think it’s based on the way mom and Aunt Alex were raised, Grandma Eliza always says that promises aren’t supposed to be broken so our family goes out of the way to never break a promise. That way if I make a promise and something comes up and I can’t keep it someone else in my family will, that’s just how we work. But I digress, so about those messages that your son has been sending me.”

“I’ll ensure they stop,” Mrs. Sinclair replied on a swallow.

“Splendid! Well that’s all I called for,” Mikayla replied cheerily. “Would you like to talk to either of my moms?”

“That won't be necessary,” Mrs. Sinclair answered.

“That’s fine then I’m sure they’re busy anyway. Oh by the way, you can tell Jake not to bother messaging me anymore because as soon as we’re done here I’ll be blocking his number as well as blocking him on all social media. Enjoy the rest of your night!” Mikayla replied hanging up before handing the phone back to her momma. “Thanks moms!”

“Would you like to talk about what just happened?” Lena called after their retreating daughter.

“Not really,” Mikayla replied looking back. “I’ve got homework to do and I’ve gotta go block Jake.”

“She scares me sometimes,” Kara says looking at the empty doorway. “Did she just give the shovel talk to the boy’s entire family by way of his mother?”

“Yes she did,” Lena replied with a smile and a shake of her head. “And quite effectively too if I do say so myself.”

“She really is your daughter,” Kara grinned knowing that they would eventually have to talk to Mikayla about what had been happening for the last month and a half. Sometimes the girl was too independent for her own good. If she had come to them in the beginning they could have put a stop to it long before now. She was also secretly proud of her for standing up for herself not just with Jake but also his mother. Not many adults, let alone teenagers, had the inner strength do what she just did which is why so many instances of sexual harassment went unreported. She was glad her daughter trusted them enough to come to them even if it was just so she could have support while she did what needed to be done.

“And don’t you forget it,” Lena smirked while dialing her executive assistant. “Hi Eve, I’m sorry for bothering you at home.”

“That’s fine Lena,” Eve answered with an easy smile. “What’s up?”

“When you get in tomorrow can you hire a PI to get me everything they can find on Jacob Sinclair? He’s 16 and attends Mikayla’s high school,” Lena replied. “Also anything you can find on his parents Veronica and Patrick would be great too.”

“Do I want to know why you want information on a teenager?” Eva asked.

“Let’s just say he seems to have a problem with the word ‘no’,” Lena replied mildly.

“So why not go straight to Alex or Maggie? Or even J’onn?” Eve asked. She knew just how protective the family was of their children and each other.

“Because Maggie and Alex would draw straws to see who gets to dangle him off the highest building they could find,” Lena deadpans earning a snort of laughter from Eve. “J’onn is likely to take him to a black site and toss him into a very deep hole. That’s not need….yet. Right now we just want to put the fear of God in him and ensure that he’s not harassing another girl who doesn’t have the resources that Mikayla does.”

“Or we could just let J’onn throw him in that dark hole,” Eve replied remembering the scared little girl she’d met eight years ago. As far as she was concerned anyone who caused that little girl another moment of fear deserved whatever hell J’onn J'onzz would rain down on them.

“Now, now, my little bloodthirsty friend,” Lena chuckled. “We’ll leave that as plan B but right now we’ll just gather the information. Night Eve.”

“Why exactly do you want information on the entire family?” Kara asked tilting her head while she eyed her wife only slightly worried. She knew Lena would never do anything illegal or actually hurt a child. Scaring the holy hell out of him though was right up her alley.

“Let’s just say our daughter’s not the only person who can give a shovel talk,” Lena smirked.

 

 

**Michael 14**

 

Michael took a deep breath, raised the baseball bat above his head while taking practice swings. He kept an eye on the game knowing he was next up to bat and his team was down by four runs.

“Let’s go Mikey!” He turned his head to the stands and smiled seeing his cousin and best friend Lyra cheering her heart out for him surrounded by the rest of his family.

“You got this Mikey!” momma added. It never failed to make him smile to see his very proper CEO momma become as rowdy as all the other families in the stands when she was supporting him. Wouldn’t her board members be stunned to see her away from the CEO persona and all its trappings?

“You can do it champ!” Aunt Alex yelled. Of all his family members Aunt Alex always cheered the loudest at his games. Aunt Maggie tied for second place with Mom and Aunt Jess but Aunt Alex was always louder than everyone else. Some boys his age would be embarrassed by their antics, but the way Michael looked at it his family loved him and this was just part of the way they showed it. If they wanted to yell and cheer and let basically everyone within earshot know that he was theirs he had no problem with that. In fact, he kind of missed the craziness when they all couldn’t make his games. Today was the first one so far that his entire family was able to attend so he was soaking up their presence for now.

“Did you bring your own cheer squad?” the new coach scowled. Michael returned to his practicing without bothering to answer. Morgan Edge had been their coach for the last three months and in all honesty he couldn’t stand the man. His coaching consisted more of him yelling and name calling than actually coaching. He missed his grandpa J’onn and wished that he was still their coach but understood why he couldn’t do it this year with his work load. After three months of constant belittling of him and his teammates most were all but ready to quit.

He took a deep breath trying to concentrate on drowning the man out and focusing on the game as he watched Frank get thrown out while trying to steal second base. They had runners at first and third base when he went up to bat. He took his stance and went into the zone but still managed to miss the first two pitches thrown.

“Eyes on the ball son,” Grandpa J’onn called from the stands. “Remember what we talked about, just breathe.”

“You’ve got this Mikey!” Aunt Alex added.

“Come on bud!” mom called. “You can do it.” He took another breath and took his stance once more doing what he had Grandpa J’onn had practiced. He can practically hear him reciting the steps for him over and over again:

  1. _Line your feet up beneath your shoulders_
  2. _Keep your knees bent_
  3. _Plant your back foot._
  4. _Stay loose and ready._
  5. _Get your hands in the right position. To get an effective grip, lay the handle of the bat across the fingers of both hands, then wrap your hands around the bat._
  6. _Line up your knuckles. Keep the tops of your fingers in one long row down the grip of the bat._
  7. _Let the bat hover over your shoulder._
  8. _Keep your body in a straight line._
  9. _Take a small step to increase your power. Once the ball leaves the pitcher’s hand, step out very slightly with the front foot._
  10. _Initiate the swing with your hips. With one quick motion, rotate the hips to create momentum for the swing._
  11. _Keep your eyes on the ball. Drop your chin and keep your head held low throughout your swing._
  12. _Turn your shoulders into the swing._
  13. _Follow through to drive it home._



Next thing he knew the ball was sailing over the outfield and over the fence and he was closing in on second base. He looked up in time to see his teammate cross home plate scoring a run. A few seconds later he was also crossing home plate and was grinning while the crowd went nuts at his homerun. In the end his team lost by one run. Considering they had been behind for most of the game he was proud of their performance and so were his teammates. That is, until his coach started yelling again.

“What are you celebrating?” he barked. “You lost! That is not something to celebrate! No-one celebrates losers regardless of whatever ‘We’re all winners’ bullshit these new age parents are shoveling these days. On this team we only celebrate winning! Is that understood?”

“But Coach J’onzz said that a noble defeat is honourable,” Aldus Boarman says confused.

“A honourable defeat?” Edge replied. “What kind of pansy-ass mombo jumbo is that? There’s no such thing. Obviously your Coach J’onzz was a complete idiot and I can see why they fired him.”

“Coach J’onzz wasn’t fired,” Michael replied angry on his grandpa’s behind. "He couldn't coach us anymore because of his work schedule.”

“Oh is that right?” Edge snarled whipping around. “What exactly does this little pansy do for a living that took him away from his noble losers?”

“He works for the FBI,” Michael replied with a smirk.

“And was that supposed to scare me?” Edge sneered. “You think he’s going to pop up out of the woods to come to your rescue or do you think your little girlfriend from the stands will?”

“Grandpa J’onn wouldn’t need to travel far to get to the field since he’s in the stands,” Michael replied through gritted teeth. “And Lyra’s my cousin not my girlfriend.”

“Oh good so maybe he can come and explain while the whole lot of you run like girls,” Edge snarled. “Or maybe I should ask your fathers what kind of men they were to be raising a bunch of sissies like you. Pathetic the whole lot of you!” With each word Edge’s voice was getting progressively louder until it caught the attention of the parents gathered in the stands as well as the other team.

“Did he just?” Alex asked too shocked to complete her question.

“He better not have,” Lena replied coldly. **No-one** talked to her son or any child for that matter like that.

“I should kick every last one of you off the team!” Edge screamed as the veins in his head stood out. “If I wanted to coach a bunch of girls I would have signed up for the girls’ team. What you’re gonna cry? Do you need to be excused to go to the bathroom and take out your tampon?” Michael could feel his temper rising the longer the man talked. He looked to the stands where his entire family was gathered. Even from the distance he could see the slight frown on Alura’s face,.Alura who his mom said looked at him like he hung the moon and all the stars. She was constantly following him around and trying anything he did. Lyra was sitting beside her and he could see that she was mad as hell as sitting beside his sister Mikayla and their cousin Ruby. He dared not look at any of the adults in his life knowing full well that they too would be furious.

“Maybe if you tried a little harder you could run like a girl too!” he yelled back not being able to take it anymore. His moms had raised him to be respectful but they also told him that he was deserving of respect and not to allow anyone else to tell him differently. “My aunts are smaller than you are and they’d deck you without breaking a sweat!” He turned and stormed off the field not looking back and picked up his little sister and headed for his moms’ car.

“Are you okay?” Alura asked quietly once they had made it to the parking lot.

“I’m good now that I’ve got my favourite girl with me,” Michael replied taking a breath and making an effort to smile.

“Hey I thought that was me!” Lyra grinned sitting beside them in the grassy area.

“Not a chance kid,” Mikayla answered sitting with them. “I was here first so I’m definitely his favourite.” In no time at all they were all laughing together and teasing.

“Hey Mikey?” Alura asked playing with his gloves. “What’s wrong with running like a girl?”

“Nothing!” Michael replied firmly. “Don’t listen to that old blowhard he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He’s one of those archaic dinosaurs that moms are always saying should go extinct. He’s a smallminded man who’s afraid and feels powerless and wants other people to feel the same way.”

“But he said,” Alura began.

“No buts Lulu,” Michael replied lifting her chin so she’d look in his eyes. “Name one person who’s a bigger badass than Aunt Alex?”

“Maybe Aunt Maggie,” Alura replied seriously earning a chuckle from her siblings and cousin.

“Yeah and who do you know who’s smarter than momma?” Mikayla asked.

“No-one,” Alura shrugged. “Though Uncle Winn, Rachel’s mom, Dante’s daddy and Olivia’s mom come close. Oh and Aunt Jess.”

“And mom is one of the bravest people we know,” Michael reminded. “You know what they all have in common?”

“They’re all girls?” Alura asked after a moment of thought.

“That’s right. Being smart or strong or brave is not dependent on your gender. Just because I may be bigger doesn’t mean anything. You are smart and strong and brave and amazing just like our moms and our aunts. Who knows? Maybe one day you’ll be smarter than all of us combined,” Michael said. “The coach is just a bully and we don’t let bullies win right?”

“Right!” Alura grinned.

“That’s my girl,” Michael smiled. “If anyone ever tells you that you do something like a girl ask them how else they expected you to since you are a girl. Or tell them that if they trained a little harder or studied a little more they could too. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t do something because of your gender, do you hear me Lulu?”

“I hear you,” Alura replied wrapping her arms around his neck. “I love you brother bear.”

“I love you too baby bear,” he replied.

“Well that was an eventful game,” Aunt Maggie quipped as the entire family came to sit with them.

“It has been decided that Mr. Edge will no longer be coaching the team,” Lena says running her hands through her son’s hair. “Aunt Alex and Grandpa J’onn are going to co-coach for the rest of the season.”

“Really?” Michael replied eagerly.

“Yup,” Alex grinned. “But I do have one question. Why didn’t you tell your moms what was going on?”

“Who says this wasn’t the first time?” Michael muttered not meeting her eyes.

“Because you lost your temper bud,” Jess answered. “You only ever do that when you’ve been bottling something up for a long time.”

“I didn’t want to be the kid who ran to his moms every time something he didn’t like happened,” Michael sighed. “I thought I could handle it on my own.”

“But you’re not alone kid,” Winn replied. “I was about your age when I learnt that when it comes to bullies you take the help you can from wherever you can.”

“Never forget that we are stronger together,” Kara said cupping his cheek. “Now, the rest of the team is meeting us at the pizza place so let’s get going.”

“And just so you know kid,” Maggie called with a grin as they got into their separate cars, “I am way more of a badass that Alex.”

 

**Lyra 10**

 

Lyra was running drills with her team while they waited on the match to start. She was a part of the under 12 team representing National City in the Junior Soccer Championships. She was one of five girls playing on the fourteen member team this year. She was playing central midfield while Michael played centre forward in this friendly match up before the tournament started in two weeks.  Her and Michael made a good team, anticipating each other’s moves and plays ahead of time. The fact that they could communicate in their own language was also a plus.

“Ready?’ Michael asked right before they took the field.

“Always,” she replied with a grin. “Let’s do it.”

“It’s a friendly match,” Michael reminded with a grin of his own.

“And your point?” she replied arching an eyebrow.

“God sometimes you’re so much like Aunt Alex and Aunt Maggie that it’s scary,” he grinned wider.

“Don’t worry Mikey, I’ll protect you," she quipped jogging out to take her position.

Xxx

“Good job so far guys,” Maggie turned to the team after half-time. “Mackenzie you’re doing an awesome job in the goal sweetie. You’ve made two impressive saves so far. Harry and Parker you guys have been on it today keeping the opposition out of Mac’s box. Abigail and Samuel keep pressing forward just remember not to end up offside. Robert, Jefferson and John keep making those smart plays you’ve been making so far. Now we just need to press forward a little more and create more goal scoring opportunities. That’s where you three come in Michael, Lyra and Jimmy. Michael and Lyra I know you work well together but you have to remember that there are other people on your team. Lean on them for support that’s what they’re there for yes? Remember team, we’re stronger together right?”

“Right!” the team chorused.

“On the count of three ‘stronger together’,” Maggie. “One, two, three!”

“Stronger together!”

They were fifteen minutes away from the end of the match when Maggie noticed number 23 from the opposing team chasing after Lyra. She felt a knot form in her stomach the closer the kid got to her daughter. The boy had been making dirty play after dirty the entire game each time the referee wasn’t looking. He’d already been given a yellow card but the ref was reluctant to send a child to the bench during a friendly match. The kind had already sent John to the bench with a sprained ankle claiming it was an accident proving that his last name Savage fit him perfectly.

She was so focused on number 23 that she didn’t notice the opposing team’s left-back come out of nowhere and slide tackle Lyra. It was a good tackle so she had no problem with it however she was completely taken aback when after Lyra fell number 23 stepped on her bottom and in the middle of her back. He was wearing spiked cleats and even from where she was sitting she could see blood on her daughter's back. He stepped over Lyra’s head and stopped before turning back to grin down at the little girl. Before anyone could react Lyra jumped up, cocked her fist back and popped him in the nose dropping him like a felled tree. Maggie knew that as Lyra’s coach and mom she should reprimand the girl for hitting another player but she’d be damned if it wasn’t a beautiful punch.

Suddenly Maggie noticed a middle aged man with shoulder length brown hair and a beard and mustache rush unto the field directly for Lyra. She was on her feet in time to see Alex square off with the man who’d rushed the field while the teams and referee gathered around them with Michael wrapping his arms around Lyra’s shoulder and glaring at the player on the ground clutching his nose.

“You might want to back there,” Alex growled.

“Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?” the man replied. “That’s my son that little hellion just pushed in the nose!”

“And that’s my daughter with blood on her back from your son’s cleats,” Alex replied going nose to nose with the man. “Like I said you might want to back up.”

“Easy Danvers," Maggie said putting a restraining hand on Alex’s shoulder.

“It was an accident!” the man fired back. “Your daughter however intentional pushed my son in the face unprovoked.”

“Your son was over ten feet away when Lyra fell,” Maggie replied. “Your son had more than enough time to either stop or swerve around her. He intentionally opted to step on her with his cleats. You’d better hope we don’t end up having to take her to the hospital or your ass is gonna foot the bill.”

“Vandal it was a dirty move and you know it,” the opposing team said confronting the man. “Eric was warned time and again by the ref and by me about his dirty playing.”

“Is this the kind of behaviour you teach your team?” Vandal sneered at Maggie. “That when the game gets a little rough they get to brawl in the middle of the field? If that’s the case, then maybe you shouldn’t have girls playing on a boys’ team.”

“It’s a coed team,” Maggie replied holding on to her temper. If she lost her cool there would be no-one there to hold back Alex and that’s the last thing they needed right now. “As her coach Lyra knows better than to start an altercation with another player. But as her mom? I’m damn glad that my daughter knows on to protect herself from bullies like you and your son. You’re lucky I got here in time to stop my wife from showing you where Lyra learnt how to throw a punch!”

“Oh you’re one of those feminazi types,” Vandal turned up his nose and turned to the ref. “Are you going to allow that kind of thing in the game or are you going to do your damn job?”

“Unsportsman like conduct,” the ref replied blowing his whistle and throwing down a red flag.

“It’s about damn time!” Vandal replied cutting the man off.

“Number 23 you’re out of the game,” the ref finished.

“Are you kidding me?!” Vandal exploded. “My son is the victim here! Why is he the one being thrown out the game?”

“Calm down or I’ll call the police and have you escorted off the compound,” the ref fired back.

“No need to look too far,” Maggie said with a wolfish smile. “I’m NCPD and will gladly escort him off for you. Or Alex can do it even though it may be slightly outside of FBI jurisdiction.”

“Vandal unless you want to end up in handcuffs I suggest you take your son and leave,” the opposing coach suggests. “Quite frankly I’d be more than happy to see you escorted off.”

“You haven’t seen the last of me,” Vandal growled.

“Actually I think we have,” the other man replied mildly. "Your son is a bully, just like you and he’s off my time.” Without another word Vandal grabbed his son’s hand and stormed off the field without a backwards glance.

“You all have five minutes to get your teams settled and back on the field,” the ref stated before walking off.

“I’m sorry about Eric and his father,” the other coach said to Maggie as each team retreated to their bench. “Don’t be too hard on your daughter, it was one hell of a punch.”

“Yeah it was,” Maggie replied with a grin. As the coach she couldn’t condone Lyra’s actions so she had to pull her out of the remainder of the game but she was more than willing to look the other way if Alex wanted to reward her with extra ice cream later. The game ended in a draw with no other confrontations going forward. As the teams lined up to shake hands she saw the opposing coach lean down and whisper to Lyra while Michael looked on protectively. She finally released the breath she didn’t know she was holding when Lyra grinned and ran off and joined the rest of her team. “Great game coach.”

“You too,” the man replied. “Gotta say, your centre forward seems awfully protective of your daughter.”

“Yeah he doesn’t like when anyone hurts his cousin,” Maggie shrugged. “She’s the same way with him so she puts up with it.”

“Cousins huh? That explains why they make such an amazing team,” he replied. “Guess we’ll be seeing you guys in the championships.”

“Believe it,” Maggie smiled making her way towards her team who was currently re-enacting Lyra’s punch and Eric's subsequent fall. She really shouldn’t condone it but she really was proud of the kid. “Who wants ice cream?”

At the end of the day Maggie and Alex opted not to give Lyra a lecture. They figured it would be hypocritical given how close they each came to decking the elder Savage. They were simply content to know that Lyra could defend herself if need be.


	5. Separation of Church and State

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena is interviewed at home for CatCo magazine

Mikayla 8 years

Michael 8 months

**Lena Luthor at Home; A look Behind the Curtain.**

**Story by Rebecca Martin pictures by Lucas Graham**

 

Lena Luthor has been living with us here in National City for almost three and though much is known about her business acumen, the same cannot be said for the woman herself. Who is this young woman who has singlehandedly reshaped the image of LCorp (formerly Luthor Corp) after the terrorist attacks spearheaded by Lex Luthor? Now LCorp invests in schools and hospitals, provides funding for medical research as well as having adopted several homeless shelters throughout the city. Ms. Luthor’s face is easily recognisable after being splashed across several magazines and newspaper articles but what do we really know about her? When we began our research we found that she attended boarding school and university in the UK, more specifically Ireland, she speaks several languages including Gaelic which is native to Ireland. We also discovered that she briefly attended culinary school while overseas for a short period and holds three PHDs. This was all information that could be readily found on the internet however the more we dug the less information we were able to find about the woman’s personal life. After running out of options short of opening a police investigation in the CEO (it was done before and during Lex Luthor’s trial and she came back squeaky clean, seriously she doesn’t even have a parking ticket) we decided to go directly to the source. When the request for an interview was put to Ms. Luthor’s assistant at 4:30PM on a Friday we weren’t surprised at its acceptance, but we were surprised when advised that it would be required to be conducted at Ms. Luthor’s home as not only would the CEO be out of office at 5PM but also that she would be leaving the city shortly thereafter for an unspecified period of time. Needless to say we were more than happy to facilitate the request given how last minute the interview was.

We were greeted at the door of her penthouse after passing through a security process that was stricter that JFK by Ms. Luthor herself. She was casually dressed in a pair of grey jeans and dark grey V-neck t-shirt accompanied by a oair of white socks.

 **LL:** Hi! Come in please. I hope you were able to find the building with ease.

 **RM:** Yes, we were. Though I must say I’m pretty sure your security now knows more about me that my neighbour of the last four years.

 **LL: *laughs*** Sorry about that. We have several high ranking doctors and researchers living in the building so security takes their job very seriously.

 **RM:** Yes, I noticed.

 **LL:** Before we go any further I will have to ask you to remove your shoes. My son is recently mobile and he sticks everything in his mouth.

 **RM:** Son? I was aware that you had a child.

 **LL:** My son Michael is 8 months old and my daughter Mikayla recently turned 8 actually. The fact that I have two children isn’t a secret, we just like keeping our private life private.

 **RM:** Not that I’m trying to shoot myself in the leg, but if you would rather keep your private life out of the public eye why would you agree to this interview?  
**LL:** Because as my family keeps pointing out, people are going to ask questions and they are going to come up with their own story. At least this way I know what is being said has at least a grain of truth to it. Also we’re hoping that being a little more open will assuage the curiosity enough that people stop trying to sneak into my office. Or break into the penthouse as it really is a hassle for the security company. Not that anyone can get onto this floor easily but it’s more of a nuisance and puts other people in danger to have the paparazzi willing to do anything for a story.

 **RM:** Fair enough.

 **LL:** Would either of you like something to drink? Coffee? Tea? Juice?

 

We were sitting in her living room the evidence of small children obvious when Ms. Luthor returned with a tray bearing coffee and all its fixings. It was then that we realized that the young Luthor had alluded several times to another unknown party residing with her.

 **RM:** You said we? As in “we thought”, is it safe to say that there’s a man in your life?

 **LL: *laughs*** Other than my son? No, just a very good friend by the name of Winn Schott, though not in the way you’re thinking. His girlfriend tends to be rather territorial.

 **RM:** I’m sorry to have assumed, your previous statements hinted at a possible romance.

 **LL:** Oh I am in a relationship, just not with a man. *laughing* Oh Lord you should see your face. The only other person I know that blushes that quickly is my girlfriend.

 **RM:** I’m not trying to be offensive. (At this moment I wanted to sink into the floor and disappear. As a journalist I know better than to assume. Thankfully the young CEO took it all in stride not the least bit offended.)

 **LL:** It’s quite alright. Believe me I’ve seen the tabloid articles speculating about which eligible bachelor I’m currently dating.

 **RM:** Why have you never corrected them?

 **LL:** Because Kara, my girlfriend, didn’t sign up for a life in the public eye. I only agreed to this interview because she was ok with it. Plus, no offense to you, but journalists these days are more interested in a story than the actual truth. A story sells papers and that’s all they seem to be interested in.

 

We were just about to continue when the front door opened.

“MOMMA!!!!!” a young girl called loudly causing the young woman in front of us to grin and shake her head. From where we are sitting we could hear another female voice remind the child to use her inside voice. “But I want to make sure Momma heard me.”

“I’m pretty sure half the building heard you little one,” the same voice replied never losing patience or changing in pitch. “Go use the bathroom and then come to the kitchen for a drink.”

We watched as the CEO rose and went to greet a young blonde who identified herself as Kara Danvers. Strapped to Ms. Danvers was a raven haired little boy who squealed in delight upon catching sight of the CEO. After removing him from his carrier he refused to be placed on the ground preferring to snuggle into the young woman for the remainder of the interview playing with the toys she handed him. Ms. Luthor easily navigated all the questions being asked of her while simultaneously keeping the infant entertained. After watching her pretend to chew on his toes, much to his delight, we cannot reconcile this image with that of the fierce and formidable corporate shark reported by many of her competition. The image was shattered even further when her young daughter stood at the edge of the room and called out in a foreign language before making her way into the room and practically climbing all over her.

 **LL:** English little one. We have guests.

We fought hard to suppress a chuckle at the dramatic sigh that seemed to have been dragged from the very depths of the child’s soul before she complied.

“I just thought you’d want to know that mom is planning on cooking the food you prepared last night for game night.” At the sigh that followed that announcement we suddenly had a clear view of where Mikayla got her flair for the dramatic. At this point we decided to observe the inner workings of the small family rather than ask questions. Before Ms. Luthor could formulate a response her front door opened once door allowing entrance to three women, two redheads and a Latina, and a young man.

“Your sister just decided to cook the food for game night apparently,” Lena directed to the shorter of the two redheads.

“I’ll get the fire extinguisher,” the young man announced before walking off.

“I’ll disable the fire alarm,” this came from the Latina.

“I’ll notify the front desk that the fire department is not needed,” the taller redhead sighed.

“And I’ll take my nephew while you go and make sure that my sister doesn’t ruin all the food.” One would think that the announcement that someone was cooking would not elicit this reaction from a group of adults but apparently it was perfectly acceptable in the Luthor-Danvers household. A short while later Ms. Luthor re-entered the room leading a pouting Ms. Danvers. We observed the group for another hour before leaving. At the end of the night we are able to say that we have a clearer image on who Lena Luthor is. She is a fierce and formidable shark in the boardroom just as her competitors reported. But she is also a mother of two, a lover, friend and sister. When asked how she managed to juggle it all her reply was simple; separation of church and state. Work remained at work at the end of the day when she came home to her family. Though it could be said that the young woman carried the weight of the world on her shoulders as the CEO as one of the biggest companies in the world, it would seem that she did not carry that weight alone.


	6. Nuggets of Wisdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trip to the dentist takes a turn for the weird.

“I love you soooooooo much!” Kara exclaimed looking up at Lena.

“I love you too love,” Lena grinned looking around her phone screen. She shook her head watching as her usually reserved wife began serenading the people around her. Who knew that the bubbly blonde was such a fan of rap music. And not just any rap songs but the dirtiest songs she had ever heard. She had no idea who half the rappers were but she distinctly recognized songs by artistes like Tupac Shakur, Wu Tang Clan, Notorious BIG, Dr. Dre and Eminem thrown in for good measure. Seeing here wife trying to stand she placed a firm but gentle hand on her shoulder. “No sweetie lay back down.”

“But I want to bust a move!” Kara whined earning a chuckle from the nursing staff. “Why you trying to stop the funk?”

“Why am I trying to what?” Lena asked suppressing a giggle while she continued filming.

“Why you bugg’n?” Kara replied. “You’re harshing my mood.”

“I really wish I knew what you were talking about but I haven’t got a clue,” Lena answered. “Love you really have to stay in the chair until the doctor says you can get up.”

“Doctor?” Kara squeaked suddenly terrified. “Am I sick?”

“No love you’re not sick,” Lena soothed. “You just had your wisdom tooth taken out.”

“You took my wisdom teeth?” Kara gasped. “But I need them! I can’t be smart if you take my wisdom teeth! How am I going to do my job without them? I do have a job don’t I? Why can’t I remember? See I need my wisdom teeth!”

“Well you don’t have a job right now,” Lena answered. “You recently went back to school though. And you don’t need your wisdom teeth for that.” Lena was doing her best to suppress her grin seeing the perplexed look on her wife of three months face.

“But I do need them! Especially if I’m in school! I’m gonna flunk without them and become a bum and have to live in the streets!” Seeing that she was once again close to tears Lena reached out and took her hand trying to sooth her. She watched as Kara looked down at their entwined fingers. Suddenly the blonde was no longer weepy. “Get your hands off me!”

“Wait what?” Lena asked perplexed.

“Do not touch me I’m a married woman!” Kara exclaimed. “I am not a cheater so keep your dirty little home-wrecking hands to yourself!”

“Kara love calm down,” Lena began once again fighting laughter.

“I will not calm down!” Kara fired back holding up her hand. “See this ring? It means I’m married. Married! Which means you don’t get to touch me.”

“Actually I do,” Lena giggled. “Since I gave you that ring.”

“What?” Kara asked confused. “When did you give me the ring? Are you saying I’m not married?”

“I gave it to you three months ago, the day I married you,” Lena replied.

“Wait you’re my wife?” Kara gasped eyes going wide.

“Yup,” Lena grinned holding up her own ring.

“I’m gay?!?!” Kara asked in the loudest whisper Lena had heard outside of their 18 month old niece Lyra.

“Well if you weren’t before you were after we got married,” Lena quipped earning a chuckle from the nurse disconnecting Kara’s IV.

“Cool!” Kara exclaimed. “My wife is hot! I get to have sex with my hot wife!”

“I’m sure your sister is going to love hearing that,” Lena chuckled.

“I have a sister?” Kara squeaked. “Do I love her? I’m sure I love her. I love her sooooooooooo much.”

“Yes you do,” Lena grinned. You actually have two and you’re about to have another one in another 3 months are so.”

“You’re pregnant?” Kara exclaimed. “We’re gonna have a baby!”

“That’s not how siblings work love,” Lena drawled. “Your brother is getting married that’s where you’re getting the other sister from.”

“And I have a brother?” Kara gasped. “And he’s having a baby and I’m going to be a big sister.”

“You know what? Sure. He’s having a baby and she’s going to be your sister,” Lena grinned.

“Do we have children?” Kara asked suddenly.

“Yes we do,” Lena smiled. “Mikayla is 9 and Mikey is 2.”

“I got you pregnant twice?!?” Kara squeaked.

“Again not how it works love,” Lena snorted.

“You mean I’m not the dad? You cheated on me?!” Kara gasped once again on the verge of tears. “After everything we’ve been through you cheated on me?”

“No I mean it’s physically impossible for you to get me pregnant,” Lena retorted. “And I have never cheated on you. I love you too much to do that.”

“I bet I could,” Kara replied with a sappy grin.

“Bet you could what?” Lena asked confused.

“Get you pregnant,” Kara grinned earning an eye roll and chuckle from Lena.

“How long before the meds wear off,” Lena asked the nurse preparing Kara for discharge.

“Another few hours at least,” the woman replied doing her best to keep a straight face watching Kara talking to the baby she was now convinced was in Lena’s belly after she poked her arm.

“Are they always like this?” Lena asked.

“Well we’ve seen a lot of this from patients on anaesthesia but I have to say this is one of the most memorable,” she chuckled watching at Lena swat at Kara’s arm to get her to leave her shirt in place. “We recommend only soft foods like soup or yogurt for the next few days. Here’s her prescription. We recommend getting the painkillers and antibiotics filled immediately as she’s going to need both in another four hours or so.”

“Is there anything else?” Lena asked as they wheeled Kara out to her car while the latter kept up a running monologue with their ‘baby’.

“Yes, good luck,” the nurse grinned.

xxx

Three days later the entire family was gathered around Lena and Kara’s living room while the children slept. They were having family night to catch up on the preparations for Winn and Jess’ wedding as well as life on a whole.

“I’ve been meaning to ask how your extraction went?” Eliza asked Kara. “The swelling on your cheek seems to be going down.”

“Who’d like to watch a video?” Lena asked with a devilish grin before Kara could reply. She’d been waiting 72 hours to share the video and was so glad that Eliza had given her the opening she needed.

 


	7. El Día de los Muertos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A death in the family leads Maggie Back to Blue Springs, Nebraska for the first time in over 20 years. Will she be able to face her memories or will ghosts of the past haunt her present?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tweaked the song Mother by Sugarland to say 
> 
> As long as we’re alive   
> you're not alone  
> We've got each other  
> But that's your mother
> 
> The actual lyrics are 
> 
> As long as she's alive   
> you're not alone  
> You've got each other  
> That's your mother
> 
> I felt that since Maggie was burying the woman who had been her mother from 14 that would be too depressing and I wanted the family to convey a show of unity to everyone watching.

**Mikayla (19)**

**Michael (12)**

**Lyra (11)**

**Junior (7) Kieran and Alura (7) JW and Ozzie (7)**

****

Oscar Rodas stood at the front of the church and quietly watched his gathered family with a heavy heart. He came from a large family and was used to practically walking on top of each other but these days they were so scattered across the US that they were only able to gather en masse for the occasionally Christmas. These days it seemed the only time he saw his family was at funerals, much like today. It had been seven days since his younger sister Catalina had died and the weight of her absence was like a boulder in his chest. Over the years they had maintained a standing every other week dinner date however he’d had to cancel for the last two occasions due to work. As she usually did she accepted his decision with understanding and a smile assuring him that they would catch up at their next outing not knowing that she would pass away in her sleep suddenly the night before. Oscar sighed and rubbed at his heart as the guilt and grief ate at him as he ran through a litany of if onlys.  He knew Catalina would never want him to be distressed on her behalf but the guilt still persisted. There was a five year difference between them and at 57 Catalina had only ever gone against his decision once. That thought brought along with it another wave of guilt as he pictured a set of hazel eyes, much like his sister’s, brimming with tears while Catalina’s spat fire at him. They had a few arguments over the matter over the years but for the most part Catalina had refrained from voicing her opinion on the matter. Thirty minutes before the service was scheduled to begin he looked over at the gathered crowd some of whom he did not recognize. Suddenly from the back of the room he watched as a lone figure entered and quietly made her way towards the casket. He took at a deep breath as he watched the woman approached not certain if his eyes were deceiving him. The last time he had seen her in person, she had been a coltish teenager rushing through life. Now years later the gangly limbs, dirty elbows and messy hair were replaced by poise and loose curls framing her shoulders. It had been over a decade since he had been in the same room as her and he could feel his palms sweating the closer she got. Before he knew it she was standing in front of him, Maggie, his daughter and the only reason he and Catalina had ever argued.

 

“Hello papá,“ Maggie greeted after placing her hand on her aunt’s casket.

“Margarita,” Oscar replied looking anywhere but at her. “Your tía would be happy that you could make it on such short notice.”

“I would never miss it,” Maggie answered.

“Are you here alone?” he asked finally meeting her eyes. At his question he saw her back stiffen and her jaw clench before her expression smoothed out. He knew that she had misunderstood his question, thinking that he did not want her family there. The truth was he was desperate for even a glimpse of his grandchildren.

“For now,” she replied mildly. “I figured I would come early to allow everyone to get use to my presence before the others came.”

“No-one would dare say anything at Catalina’s funeral,” Oscar frowned. “She made it clear to everyone that you were always welcomed in her home. No-one would disgrace her memory by becoming disruptive.”

“Emotions tend to rule logic,” Maggie shrugged. “I have a few guests here already so I best see to them. I just wanted to let you know that I’m sorry for your loss.” Oscar watched as she made her way over to a group of strangers and was immediately folded into a bear hug by a giant of a man. He longed to wrap her in a similar hug but knew that he had lost the privilege years before. It seemed that today the ghost of all his actions past were coming home to roost.

 

Xxx

 

Maggie stood on the church steps waiting for her family’s arrival. She had asked them to arrive ten minutes before the ceremony was schedule to start, partly because she wanted to spare them a frosty reception but mostly because she needed to grieve for her aunt without having to put on a brave face for the children. They were all still reeling from the phone call three days before advising them of her tía’s passing and she had not had a spare moment to breathe. It was times like these she was most grateful for Lena’s wealth and generosity. The CEO had made all the travel arrangements for the entire family, including Eliza from Midvale, so that they could all be with her today.

“Maggie?” she heard a voice ask from behind her. She was surprised when she turned around and found her childhood crush Elisa Wilkey standing behind.

“Hello Elisa,” she replied mildly.

“I wanted to say that I was sorry from your loss,” Elisa stated.

“Thank you,” Maggie answered.

“I also wanted to apologize for my part in what happened to you. It wasn’t fair,” Elisa began.

“This is neither the time nor the place,” Maggie interrupted. “What happened, happened. And no amount of wishing and apologies will change that. If it’s all the same to you I’d rather leave the past in the past.”

“I understand,” Elisa answered. The silence between them stretched out before Maggie excused herself as she watched three black SUVs arrive at the front of the church and her family stepped out. Their presence did not go unnoticed by the gathered crowd. Maggie wasn’t surprised as she knew that her wife and her siblings made a striking picture on a normal day, let alone decked out in all black and attending a Mexican funeral in a town where everyone knew everything about everyone. The fact that their children were miniature versions of them meant that they also tended to catch the eye. She was immensely relieved as each person took a turn enfolding her in a hug. She bent and straightened Ozzie’s tie and running her fingers through JW’s slightly overly long hair before straightening and tucking Lyra under her shoulder as Alex held her hand.

“Ready?” Alex asked giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

“As I’ll ever be,” Maggie answered taking a deep breath and fighting tears. Though she had always known that the day would come she never expected that it would be this soon. She wanted more time with her aunt. Time to perfect all the dishes she had learnt. Time to talk to her and listen to the tales of her Mexican ancestors that her aunt tended to tell time and time when she visited. Time to convince her aunt to move to National City so that they could see each other more often. Time to just tell her that she loved her. Time to thank her for opening her home and her heart to a scared fourteen year old whose world was crumbling around her. Really all she wanted was time, but time was a precious commodity that she could no longer afford and the weight of all the things she had left unsaid made breathing difficult. This was the first time in over two decades that she had been around the family she had been born into and she was reeling from the wave of emotions that was swamping her. She was oscillating between happiness, sadness, anger, fear and even a small bout of shame. She had long since accepted who she was but suddenly being back in this community and surrounded by these people she found herself reverting to the scared teenager she had been all those years ago.

“Stronger together right Aunt Maggie?” Michael asked resting his hand on her shoulder. “Is that what you tell us before every game? Teams support each other and a team is just like a family. They’re there to support you so lean on them yeah?”

“When did you get so smart?” Maggie smiled.

“Didn’t you hear my mom’s a genius?” Michael replied with a smirk so reminiscent of Lena that you’d never guess that they shared no genetic bond. “My aunts are pretty smart too so I guess it runs in the family.”

“Let’s go inside before his chest puffs up so much it explodes,” Mikayla shook her head. “The last thing we need is for him to get an even bigger ego than he already has.”

"The natives are fighting,” Eliza quipped earning a chuckle from the assembled group as they made their way towards the church.

 

Xxx

 

The funeral service was well underway when Maggie was called to say a few words about her aunt. Standing in front the gathered faces of her relatives Maggie concentrated on her memories of her aunt.

“Tía Catalina has been a constant in my life for as long as I could remember. She was there for every heartbreak and every triumph. She was more excited about my graduating high school than I was. In fact, I didn’t want to go but she insisted that I had put in all the hard work and so I deserved to see the end result. She said what I was doing was the equivalent of spending hours baking a pie and then deciding to throw it away when it was baked,” Maggie stated with a fond smile earning a chuckle from the assembled crowd. “When I got into the police academy she was equal parts proud and worried. Proud that I had accomplished my goal and worried that with my height and being a Latina that I would face some sort of disadvantage or discrimination. I was worried that she would be determined to move into the academy in order to protect me so I was really surprised when she dropped me off without any fuss. No sooner had she left than I was pulled into an interrogation room by three instructors, one of which goes by Great White because of his height and his competence in the water. My palms were sweating and a lump had formed in my throat as I thought that maybe tía was right after all. Imagine my surprise when I get asked to explain what a chancleta was. I thought that maybe they were being racist only to find out that tía had paid them a visit the week before and threatened them with vengeance by chancleta if anything were to happen to me. After I explained what it was, they all nodded and stared back at me before the biggest one asked if I thought my aunt would be willing to come in and teach the new recruits intimidation and interrogation tactics.”

“I still maintain that she’d make one hell of a police officer,” a voice called from the congregation as laughter rippled through the crowd.

“As fierce as she was when it came to protecting her family she was also determined to gather everyone she encountered under her wing and protect them. While I was at the academy she came in every other week and cooked up a storm. From Arroz Con Pollo to Ropa Vieja, she was always cooking something. After a while the instructors started threatening to report anyone who broke protocol to her and have her withhold her Tres Leche Cake. No-one could resist her charm, not the rich kid with a chip on his shoulder trying to prove to everyone that he could make it without his father’s help, or the girl who was trying to stay away from gangs, or the nerdy teenager who wanted to prove that he had both brains and brawn. She won everyone over in no time at all and no-one wanted to disappoint her. They said that our batch made history being the first and only that had all recruits complete the program while breaking all the records that had been standing for years. Some of us have remained in the police force since but many have gone on to bigger and greater things. Some have joined the military or opened businesses or started families. We even have a senator among us who now advocates for equal opportunities for minority groups. Despite our differences now the one thing that remains the same is the lasting impact that tía Catalina has had on us. I for one am in no doubt that if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be here today,” Maggie wiped a tear from her eye before turning to face her aunt’s casket. “Thank you for everything tía. You changed my life and I’ll always be eternally grateful.”

Xxx

 

Oscar sat and listened as one after another persons went up to pay tribute to his sister but all he could think about was the moments in his daughter’s life that he had missed out on. He looked across the aisle where she sat surrounded by those closest to her. He watched as a little girl with red hair wrapped her arms around Maggie’s waist and young boy climbed into her lap and held unto her hand. To her left an identical boy sat on a redhead’s lap while leaning over and holding Maggie’s other hand.

 _Those are my nietos,_ Oscar thought _and I don’t know them._

He didn’t even know their names as by the time they had been born his sister had long since stopped attempting to keep him apprised of his daughter’s life. After the last time he had adamantly stated that he never wanted to hear Maggie’s name again his sister had relented and granted him his wish. Now he wished that he could take it back with everything in him. He wanted his little girl back, wanted to know the woman she had grown into. He could all but hear his sister urging him to make amends.

“She looks happy,” his wife whispered looking at the daughter they could no longer claim.

“She does,” Oscar sighed.

“They look like her, the boys I mean,” she replied. “The little girl looks more like her wife though. Do you think she’d let us meet them?”

“I don’t know,” Oscar answered with a heavy heart. “She expects us to reject her and them so I doubt she’d want us anywhere near them. She told them to come late.”

“But why?” his wife asked confused.

“To avoid a scene Magda,” he sighed. “She thought they wouldn’t be welcomed.”

“We’ve really lost her haven’t we?” Magda choked.

“Yes, and we have no-one to blame but ourselves,” Oscar replied. “We have no-one to blame but me actually.”

“We both played our part,” Magda replied. “I could have stopped you. But I was too concerned about what people would say to think about the fact that she needed us. She’s our daughter and we turned our back on her.” Oscar held her hand staring straight ahead while she wept for the mistakes that they had made and all it had cost them. He thought about how hard the years had been without Maggie and knew that no matter how hard it had been for them, it had been much worse for Maggie.

 

Xxx

Mikayla stood with her siblings and cousins when it was their turn to honour the woman whose life they were celebrating. The eight of them made their way to the microphone and stood shoulder to shoulder.

“Today we gather to celebrate the life of Catalina Rodas who many of you called tía. The eight of us though, never called her that. No, we had the privilege of calling her Abuelita,“ Mikayla began. “She wasn’t our grandmother but as long as we have known her she’s always acted as our Abuelita. She was one of the three that we’ve hand since we became a family. She wasn’t even actually related to my siblings and I but you couldn’t tell her that. She said that aunt Maggie was a part of my family and by extension I was a part of hers. When she found out that I was getting picked on for being adopted she was so mad I was certain that she was going to march down to my school with her infamous chancleta. All I could think about is the bewilderment of the medical examiner who would have to put ‘beaten senseless with a chancleta’ on multiple death certificates.”

“When she came back two weeks later she had two large frames that she had hung in our rooms,” Michael added taking up the story. “We would like to read for you the poem she gave us.” He stepped back and nodded to Mikayla to begin.

 

“We didn't give you the gift of life,” Mikayla stated.

“But in our hearts we know,” Michael added

“The love we feel is deep and real,” Lyra continued

“As if it had been so,” Junior stated.

“For us to have each other,” Alura and Kieran chorused.

“Is like a dream come true!” JW and Ozzie added.

“No, we didn't give you the gift of life, life gave us the gift of you,” they finished altogether. After they had finished several hands could be seen wiping tears from cheeks as Lyra stepped forward.

“There was a time I was ashamed of my Latina heritage,” Lyra stated looking to her moms. “I didn’t want to know Spanish or know anything about our heritage. Not because I thought that being Latina was shameful but because our Latin heritage and upbringing had been used to separate my mama from her family. Well when Abuelita found out she was hopping mad and told me I was being childish. She also didn’t take too kindly to me reminding her that I was allowed to be since I was nine. She told me that I was sacrificing getting to know my mama as well as parts of myself by denying my heritage. Now I’m glad she had insisted. Some of the best memories I’ve had involves my Latina heritage in some way. So thank you Abuelita, for everything. Descansa en Paz.” Once Lyra finished speaking Alex, Kara, Winn and Jess joined them at the podium while Lena wrapped her arms around a now weeping Maggie.

“Catalina became a part of our lives when our little tribe all but kidnapped Maggie,” Alex smiled in remembrance. “After a while we weren’t sure if we had kidnapped Maggie or Catalina had kidnapped us. After she had threatened to make us all disappear if we ever hurt Maggie of course. One of the things that she loved doing with the children is singing while they cooked, so we wanted to pay tribute to her and her relationship with Maggie in the form of a song.” Alex looked over to Winn who had a guitar strapped to his chest and upon receiving the go ahead took a breath and waited for her cue. The audience was shocked when the tiny redhead who gave off a badass vibe began singing.

 

 _She'll take you in, feed your friends_ __  
Her open arms are welcoming  
She'll rub your back all night when you're crying  
She'll listen to you tell your story  
Hold your fear and all your worries  
Help you find the truth when they're all lying  
Even when it's hopeless, she keeps trying

** Everyone: **

_She's your mother, you love her_ __  
There won't be another  
Place like her again that you call home  
She stands here to help you  
There's nothing she won't do  
As long as we’re alive   
You're not alone  
We've got each other  
But that's your mother

** Kara: **

_She fixes all the broken things_ __  
When you're in love, she's got a ring  
To give to you, she hopes you'll give away  
She don't care who you give it to  
Where they're from, if they pray like you  
As long as they are good to you, that's enough  
First thing she taught you was love is love

** Everyone: **

_She's your mother, you love her_ __  
There won't be another  
Place like her again that you call home  
She stands here to help you  
There's nothing she won't do  
As long as we’re alive   
You're not alone  
We've got each other  
But that's your mother

** Winn and Jess: **

_When you fail her, when you're afraid_ __  
And crying in the careless mess you've made  
She'll make you clean it up yourself   
and offer you a little help  
And dry your weary eyes when you let her  
But she'll look at you and know you can do better

** Everyone: **

_She's your mother, you love her_ __  
There won't be another  
place like her again that you call home  
She stands here to help you  
There's nothing she won't do  
As long as we’re alive   
You're not alone  
The secrets in your heart she's always known

** Children: **

_She's a beacon, a harbour_ __  
A lighthouse, her armour  
A promise and a blanket when it's cold  
You'll understand it more when you get older  
We've got each other  
But that's your mother  
You've got each other  
That's your mother

Xxx

 

After the funeral everyone gathered at Catalina’s home. Scattered throughout the house Oscar could see the people who had loved his sister most. At first he had thought that Maggie would refuse to turn up to the celebration after but he was happy to see that Catalina’s adherence to their Latin heritage had prompted not just Maggie but her entire family to attend. Here in his sister’s home he was finally able to get a close look at the grandchildren he hadn’t met. He was also able to witness the group dynamic within the family that Maggie had forged. Based on what he had seen the redhead who had been sitting beside Maggie was definitely used to taking the lead. The others were content to follow but they were by no means passive or submissive. They all followed where she led because they wanted. He also noticed that they all showed deference to the older blonde indicating that she was the mother of at least two of the adults in the group. This was furthered confirmed when he heard the children refer to her as ‘Grandma Eliza’. He also noticed that the older African American man with the military bearing who standing with them seemed protective but indulgent much like a father would. He witnessed the little boy with jet black hair say something to his daughter who then took his hand and led him over to where Oscar was standing.

“Michael would like to borrow the bathroom if that’s ok,” Maggie announced once she was standing in front of him.

“Down the hall,” Oscar began.

“And to the right. Yeah I remember,” Maggie replied with a small smile before turning to the boy. “I’ll be over there with your moms okay Mikey?”

“Sure, thanks aunt Maggie,” Michael replied with a grin. “Maybe I’ll find some pictures of you when you were growing up.”

“Play with me and I’ll have the team use you as target practice,” Maggie quipped ruffling his hair. It was obvious that Michael did not take her threat seriously if his laughter was any indication. Oscar watched the byplay between the two before Maggie cleared her throat. “I should get back to the others.”

“You coach his team?” Oscar asked in a bid to get her to talk to him.

“His and Lyra’s soccer team yes,” Maggie answered turning back to him.

“And you find the time to do that while being a police officer?” Oscar asked.

“Being a Lieutenant has its perks,” Maggie quipped reminding him of the little imp she had been as a child.

“You’re a lieutenant now?” Oscar asked impressed and proud.

“For a few years now,” Maggie replied with a frown. “How did you known what I did for a living?”

“There was an article written about you cracking the Martial murder after it had been cold for eighteen years,” Oscar shrugged. Before Maggie could comment Ozzie was tugging on her arm.

“Excuse me Mama. Can we go and look at the pond you told us about?”

“I’m sorry papito but I have to stay in here for a little while longer,” Maggie answered bending to the child’s height.

“I could take him if you’d like,” Oscar offered as nonchalantly as possible. He was dying to be able to speak to any of the children who so resembled his daughter while she was growing up.

“Would you like that?” Maggie asked Ozzie.

“Níl a fhios agam air agus níl mé ag iarraidh dul leis,” Ozzie replied his words fairly tripping over each other shocking Oscar.

“Papito you know I’m not fluent enough in Irish to understand if you speak so quickly,” Maggie sighed. “Only you, your siblings and cousins and aunt Lena would have any idea what you just said. Can you repeat it slowly for me please?”

“Il a dit qu'il ne le connaissait pas et qu'il ne voulait pas l'accompagner,” Mikayla responded coming over to join them.

“¿Es eso cierto?” Maggie asked Ozzie who immediately nodded. “If J’onn is okay with going with you the pond is around back.”

“Grandpa J’onn,” Ozzie yelled taking off like a bat out of hell for the older man Oscar had noticed standing with them.

“I’ll go make sure they don’t fall in,” Mikayla shook her head seeing her sister and cousins bouncing around J’onn like the energizer bunny. “I’ll also make sure they don’t drive Grandpa J’onn too insane. You know he has a hard time telling us no.”

“Yes because you aren’t the reason he’s like that right?” Maggie quipped.

“I plead the fifth,” Mikayla grinned walking away.”

“They call him grandpa?” Oscar asked around the lump in his throat.

“He was there when Michael and Mikayla were adopted as well as when the other six were born. Plus, he treats us like his wayward children so it seemed natural,” Maggie shrugged not sure what to make of the hurt she could see in her father’s eyes. Surely she was mistaken, after all he didn’t want her around so he couldn’t be upset at what her children called J’onn. “I should go find Mikey,” she stated before going in search of the boy. After directing him to the pond she made her way to the kitchen to get a cold drink. There she found three of the cousins she had grown up with. She was about to turn back when Mateo the unofficial spokesman of the group called out to her.

“It’s good to see you Maggie,” Mateo called awkwardly.

“Hello Mateo. Diego. Maria,” Maggie replied not returning the sentiment.

“It’s been a while,” Diego answered before looking at his feet.

“Over twenty years,” Maggie agreed not attempting to alleviate the awkward tension in the room.

“We hear you’re a cop now like tio Oscar,” Maria prompted.

“I am,” Maggie replied silently prompting them to get to the point of this little chitchat.

“And you’re married?” Maria tried again together to talk about her life.

“I am,” Maggie answered once before heading towards the door. “I should get back to my wife; she’ll be wondering where I am.”

“Maggie wait!” Mateo called causing her to face them once more. “Look we wanted to apologize. You know for what happened. We were kids. And you can’t go against family. You understand that right?”

“I do,” Maggie replied holding on to her temper. “But it seems you have conveniently forgotten that **I** was family and you had no problem going against me. I was also younger than all of you when I suddenly found myself without a family, so let’s not pretend that what happened had anything to do with loyalty or age. I was different and anything different isn’t tolerated.”

“We understand how you feel,” Mateo began.

“Oh do you now?” Maggie replied mildly. “You know what it’s like to be abandoned by everyone you knew? By people you grew up with? People who claimed to love you? You understand how it feels to suddenly find yourself with no home or family to call your own? You all stood back and watched as this town tortured me and you think you understand how I felt? If it wasn’t for tia Catalina I wouldn’t have had anywhere to go. What would you all have done then? Understood?” She watched as one by one they all looked at their feet not being able to respond to the charges she levied on them. What response could they give that would make what she said any less true?

 

Xxx

 

Magda watched as her daughter stormed out the back door in a fit of temper and her heart ached. They had done this to her. Abandoned her when she needed them most. Over the years she and begun doing research on the LGBT+ community and was sickened to learn how many of the teens took their own lives. Had Maggie ever considered it? What had she endured while they were sitting on their moral high horse?

“Excuse me,” a voice said from behind her. Turning around she found the young woman who had kept a keen eye on Maggie all afternoon. “I just need to put this in the garbage.” She watched as the young woman made her way to the garbage bin by the back door casting a quizzical look at the three others gathered in the kitchen.

“You came with Maggie right?” Mateo once again took the lead.

“I did,” Alex replied.

“Can you tell us who Maggie’s married to?” Mateo asked.

“That depends on why you’re asking and who’s asking,” Alex answered.

“I’m Mateo and this is Diego and Maria,” Mateo made the introductions. “We’re Maggie’s—“

“Cousins. I know,” Alex interrupted. “You used to go by the Fearsome Foursome.”

“We did,” Mateo sighed. “Then the incident happened.”

“The incident?” Alex replied keeping a firm grip on her temper with a raised eyebrow. “Is that what you’re calling an entire family turning their back on a fourteen year old?”

“We know how it looks,” Maria begun.

“Do you?” Alex queried mildly. “How exactly do you think it looks?”

“Like we’re all a bunch of homophobic assholes,” Diego chimed in. “And you’re right, we are. Or at least we were.”

“And what changed?” Alex tilted her head to the side.

“We grew up,” Diego answered honestly. “We went out into the world and realized that we had a narrow view of the world and sexuality. By the time we realized it, it was too late. The damaged had been done.”

“And when did you all suddenly have your epiphany?” Alex asked.

“Over a decade ago,” Maria added.

“And yet none of you reached out to Maggie?” Alex replied.

“We didn’t think we deserved her forgiveness,” Mateo sighed. “Us staying away was our punishment, not Maggie’s. We figured since we turned our backs when she needed us most that we didn’t have a right to force our way into her new life.”

“Who did that benefit?” Alex asked mildly.

“What?” Mateo frowned in confusion.

“Who did your staying away benefit? Maggie was still alone and from what you said you were without your cousin. So who did your decision benefit?”

“No-one I guess,” Mateo sighed. "We tried asking tia Catalina about her life but she said if we wanted to know we should ask Maggie.”

“Catalina was right,” Alex replied. “Whatever you want to know about Maggie you should ask Maggie.”

“We know,” Maria chimed in. “But she’s angry with us, rightfully so. We figured that if we could at least get a chance to get her wife to listen to us, she could help us get Maggie to give us a chance.”

“What makes you think she could convince Maggie to do anything? I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but the woman could give stubborn lessons to a jackass,” Alex drawled.

“She got her to marry her,” Diego shrugged. “Maggie always swore she’d never get married. If she can do that then maybe she can help us.”

“What makes you think she’d be willing to help you?” Alex asked. “She’d be loyal to Maggie, not you. So why would she help you?”

“Because the last thing we want to do is hurt Maggie,” Mateo replied. "We just want our cousin back.”

“You’re sure that’s what you want? And before you answer, take into consideration that between the five of us we have the capabilities and the means to ensure that your body is never found if you hurt her again,” Alex advised.

“We’re sure,” Mateo answered for the group.

“Okay, then give me a minute,” Alex pulled out her cell phone and a few moments later her siblings walked in. “This is Winn and Jessica Schott and Kara and Lena Luthor-Danvers.”

“Wait so who’s married to Maggie?” Diego asked confused.

“That would be me,” Alex replied. “I’m Alex Sawyer-Danvers. And if you think I’m joking about you never being found, you should know that I work for the FBI.”

“Cool!” Mateo whispered. "I can’t believe Mags managed to find someone as crazy as she is.”

“Why are we here?” Lena asked cutting to the chase.

“They apparently want to make amends,” Alex shrugged.

“Et tu les crois?” Jess inquired in French.

“Je retiens le jugement,” Alex replied before her gaze hardened. “Mais s'ils la blessent, je les tuerai.”

“Do we want to know what you just said?” Mateo asked seeing the look in her eyes.

“Don’t hurt Maggie and you’ll never have to find out,” Winn answered.

“Maggie might be your cousin,” Kara added. “But she’s our sister.”

“And we protect our own,” Jess chimed in. “We don’t want to see Maggie hurt, by you or anyone else.” On that note Jess turned and caught Magda’s eye across the room. She waited until the woman nodded ensuring that she too got the message that they would protect Maggie from all of them.

“If push comes to shove we will not hesitate to push back,” Lena stated. “And we’ve got the muscles to shove back harder than everyone in this house combined.”

“How do we get Maggie to listened?” Maria asked taking the plunge.

“Be honest with her,” Alex shrugged.

“And keep in mind that you won’t fix the problem overnight,” Kara added. “She’s hurt and angry and she has every right to be so it’ll take time and patience.”

“Now if you’ll excuse us, we have to return to our mom,” Alex stated leading the way out of the kitchen.

“Do you really think she’d make us disappear?” Diego grinned.

“I remember enough high school French to translate her saying she’d kill us, so yeah I believe her,” Maria quipped.

“She really did find someone as crazy as her didn’t she?” Diego replied laughing. Since they had no intention of hurting Maggie he wasn’t too concerned. On the contrary he was excited, excited at the prospect of having his cousin back in his life.

Xxx

“I met your wife,” Magda said coming up behind Maggie. “She seemed…..intense.”

“She can be,” Maggie replied without turning around.

“She also seemed kinda scary,” Magda added.

“Not to me,” Maggie shrugged. They stood in silence for close to ten minutes before Magda attempted to break the silence once more.

“Margarita I’m,” she faltered. “I’m sorry. We’re sorry. We reacted disgracefully and there’s no excuse for it. I know you may never forgive us but I thought you should know.” They once again lapsed into silence each lost in their own thoughts.

“I kept thinking I was dreaming,” Maggie said. “That he’d come back. That he’d tell me it was all a mistake. After a week a thought **you’d** come and get me. A week later I convinced myself that something awful must have happened to you and that’s why you were there. I mean you were my mom; you were supposed to always love me right? A month later I was still waiting. And a month after that. And a month after that. I kept telling myself that today would be the day. By the time it got to six months I’d stopped hoping and crying myself to sleep. I stopped praying too, I mean what was the point? I was dirty and going to hell and no amount of praying was going to change that. The kids at school were still going to make my life hell so I ate lunch alone every day and put all my efforts into graduating early. I left the first chance I got and never looked back. If it wasn’t for tia Catalina I never would have come back. She came to me no matter where I was living. After that first year I told her I’d be spending the holidays with some friends since I knew how much she missed the family on Christmas. I spent it and every holiday after alone. Some years I worked, some I didn’t. The only constant was that I was alone.”

Beside her Magda felt her heart break even more for the girl she hadn’t been around to see grow into a woman. She had a backbone of steel now, but what had she endured in order to forge it? Whatever it was she knew that she had failed as a parent. Whatever hope she’d been harbouring that Maggie could eventually forgive them died a slow and painful death. She looked to her left and caught her husband staring at them. By the look in his eyes she knew that he’d heard at least part of what Maggie had said.

“I don’t know if I can forgive you,” Maggie added unknowingly echoing her mother’s thoughts, “But I’m willing to try. Not for you or even for me, but for my children. I don’t want Lyra to ever be ashamed of her heritage and with tia Catalina gone Lyra and the boys will need a link to their Mexican heritage.”

“Thank you,” Magda whispered brokenly.

“I’m not doing it for you,” Maggie answered.

“I know,” Magda replied. “But I’m still thankful.” They looked up in time to see Mikayla leading the younger children with a sheepish looking J’onn bringing up the rear.

“Oscar Jeremiah Sawyer-Danvers why are you wet?” Maggie called sternly.

“It’s a long story,” Mikayla said coming to a stop in front of her aunt.

“Give us the Cliff’s notes version,” Lena added as she, Alex, Kara, Winn and Jess gathered around Maggie. “Kieran Alexander Luthor-Danvers why are **you** wet?”

“Well there was a ball, a goose, a boat and a bet,” Mikayla shrugged.

“Winslow Schott the Third explain yourself!” Jess demanded trying to keep the smile off her face.

“Somehow I don’t think we want to know,” Kara sighed. “The Cliff’s notes version is already giving me a headache.”

“All of you head to the car before we decide on your punishment,” Alex threatened. “You too Grandpa J’onn.”

“How am I in trouble?” J’onn demanded.

“You took seven children to a pond and three of them came back soaked! You’re lucky we don’t ground you,” Lena replied pointing to the cars. “Now march!” They said their goodbyes before heading towards their cars.

Magda and Oscar watched the small procession heading for the cars with a smile.

“She named him Oscar,” Oscar whispered gruffly.

“Maybe there is hope yet,” Magda replied watching as her daughter and her family drove away after stripping the three wet boys and wrapping them in towels. “Maybe there is hope yet.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to send requests to me on Tumblr; Still-Figuring-Me-Out


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